Doritos Probably Kicked Off The Perpetual Ranch Wave

It's hard to remember a world without ranch seasoning. Ranch is zesty, tangy, and oh-so refreshing. Whether it's a salad dressing, a dip, or a dried seasoning blend, it always hits. It goes with almost everything except maybe ice cream, but that's about it. Ranch is a beautiful blend of dried buttermilk, garlic, onion, and herbs. The world is eternally grateful that Steven Henson invented ranch dressing in 1956 and created the famous Hidden Valley Ranch brand. While the dressing continued to grow in popularity throughout the '70s and '80s, the true potential for ranch wasn't unlocked until the fateful day it engulfed tiny little triangle-shaped tortilla chips. That's right; we're talking about Doritos.

Everyone loves Doritos, and if they say they don't, they're just lying to themselves. There is a steadfast debate over which flavor is best, Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch. It's a classic blue vs. red fight that has people itching to break out a lightsaber "Star Wars" style to battle over their favorite chip. Doritos were introduced to the world in 1966, and the classic Nacho Cheese flavor was created in 1972. But it wasn't until 1986 that the junk food world changed forever when Cool Ranch Doritos were born. 

Cool Ranch Doritos are incredibly addicting. Doritos introduced a younger generation to the insatiable ranch flavor, probably making them more open to trying new things like a salad with ranch dressing. According to The New York Times, ranch dressing's popularity steadily grew after Cool Ranch Doritos hit store shelves. Coincidence? Perhaps not! Abby Reisner, author of the cookbook "Ranch," told the outlet that ranch boomed in popularity after 1986 when the flavor launched.

Today, ranch dressing is a $1 billion industry (via Money.com), which is quite frankly insane to think about. Ranch continues to rank as America's favorite salad dressing year after year with no sign of slowing down. While you can't pinpoint Cool Ranch Doritos's direct effect on the ranch pandemonium, it certainly hasn't hurt it.

Doritos continues to build upon popular food trends as it introduces new chip flavors to the market. A notable recent addition is the Flamin' Hot Cool Ranch Doritos. These chips cut straight to the chase by giving the people what they want, a combination of spicy and cooling flavors. Two birds, one stone! Now there just needs to be a salad dressing created that mimics the flavors.